A spacecraft launched into orbit by the Chinese space agency this week will be the first piece of technology aimed at tackling the growing problem of space debris, according to the Chinese government.

But experts have warned the trash-clearing robot could may have been deployed for more nefarious ends, saying it could be poised to take out communications satellites.

While China’s space agency (CNSA), a branch of the military, has said the craft is aimed at collecting potentially hazardous debris, analysts have said it could remain dormant until needed in wartime situation.

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China’s space agency (CNSA) has said a prototype craft launched aboard the Long March 7 rocket last week (pictured) aimed at collecting potentially hazardous debris, analysts have said it could remain dormant until needed in wartime situation

CHINA'S EFFORTS TO COLLECT SPACE JUNK

The Chinese space agency (CNSA) has launched a robotic prototype into orbit which it said is aimed at tackling space debris.

Analysts have warned that the if successful, more prototype could easily be produced and delivered into orbit.

There are concerns that these trash bots could be activated in wartime, when they could target and disable enemy satellites.

With such heavy reliance on satellites for communications, disabling them could leave nations crippled and more open to attack.

According to the South China Morning Post, a researcher in Beijing said the craft was a ‘clean’ anti-satellite weapon, saying: ‘This time no one will point the finger [at China]’.

The secretive CNSA confirmed the robotic probe was launched into orbit on Saturday aboard the Long March 7 rocket, along with a test crew capsule, satellite refuelling and other technology.

It is the first known attempt to track and collect unwanted trash in space.

Called Aolong-1, the craft is reportedly fitted with a robotic arm and will be a technological test of CNSA's ability to remove 'non-cooperative' targets from orbit.

While such targets would be limited to space trash and defunct satellites, there are concerns the military technology could easily be targeted at other nations' military or communications satellites and spacecraft.

Debris is a growing problem for agencies and poses a threat to satellites and manned craft orbiting the planet.

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The robotic probe was launched into orbit on Saturday aboard the Long March 7 rocket, along with a test crew capsule, satellite refuelling and other technology. A search team member stands guard by the reentry module which was launched aboard Long March-7 at the weekend

More than half a century of space exploration and communications development has left its mark on Earth’s uppermost atmosphere and beyond, with the remnants of rocket stages, dead satellites and scientific experiments falling around the planet at thousands of kilometres per hour.

Such speeds mean that even the smallest pieces can generate huge forces when they collide, with the potential to punch holes straight through a satellite, or completely obliterate them.

China drew criticism from the International community in 2007 after blowing up a defunct polar-orbiting weather satellites, the Fengyun 1C, with the resulting scattered debris posing a threat to other satellites.

Debris is a growing problem for agencies and poses a threat to satellites and manned craft orbiting the planet

CHINA'S MOON SHOT AND BEYOND

In an interview with the BBC, mission chief Wu Weiren said the Chinese space agency's short-term goal is to orbit and land on the moon as well as bring back lunar samples.

However, the long-term goals are to explore and settle on the lunar surface, establishing a research base.

It is unclear as to whether this exploration will extend to mining activities, to tap the moon's potential veins of uranium, titanium, minerals and radioactive helium-3.

According to the mission chief, China plans to set a course for Mars, reaching the planet by the end of 2021.

If successful, the Chinese would join the US, European and Indian space agencies in successfully sending a probe to the red planet date.

Russia’s space agency, Roscosmos, confirmed that a piece of the destroyed Chinese orbiter – which had remained in high speed orbit – collided with its BLITS satellite in 2013, changing its spin and orbit.

The heightened concerns are reminiscent of Cold War era paranoia, when the US was locked in a tense stand-off with Russia with the threat of nuclear war never far away.

Earlier this year, reports emerged that a US Air Force general claimed countries such as China and Russia are planning to shoot down military satellites with missiles, spacecraft and even lasers.

General John Hyten, head of Air Force Space Command made the comments while pleading with Congress to increase spending to protect military satellites.

He told the house Armed Service strategic sub-committee that foreign states want to curb American space systems and the threat posed to them had now reached tipping point.

The US government has previously stated that cyber-attacks on its systems would constitute an act of war.

China has stepped up its space programme in recent years, as more states and private firms join the renewed space race.

China has stepped up its space programme in recent years, as more states and private firms join the renewed space race, with the CNSA having its sights set firmly on Mars (pictured)

A rocket scientist for the agency, Yuan Minhui, was recently quoted by People's Daily saying the agency was spurred on after being 'defeated' by India's space agency in the race for an Asian probe to reach Mars.

China partnered with Russia to launch a Mars-bound probe previously, but it failed to make it out of Earth's low orbit.

Meanwhile, Nasa and Esa have launched another mission, called ExoMars, the first stage of which will taste the Martian atmosphere for methane, which could be a sign of geological activity, and even life.

WHAT IS SPACE JUNK?

Sputnik One, was launched into space 53 years ago, mankind has created a swarm of perhaps tens of millions of items of debris.

Since the first object, Sputnik One, was launched into space 53 years ago, mankind has created a swarm of perhaps tens of millions of items of debris.

The rubbish circling the planet comes from old rockets, abandoned satellites and missile shrapnel.

There are around 22,000 objects in orbit that are big enough for officials on the ground to track and countless more smaller ones that could do damage to human-carrying spaceships and valuable satellites.

It is estimated there are as many as 370,000 pieces of space junk floating in Earth's orbit, traveling at speeds of up to 22,000mph (34,500km/h).

One previously major source of debris was the testing of anti-satellite weapons carried out by the US and Soviet Union in the 1960s and 70s.

Accidental events have also contributed to the problem. In February 2007 for instance, a Russian Briz-M booster stage exploded in orbit over South Australia.

More recently, the GOCE satellite, also known as the 'Ferrari of space', made a fiery fall to Earth sometime between the end of December 2013 and the start of November.